Clapham Christian Fellowship

Clapham Christian Fellowship is part of the London City Church network which is birthed out of Kensington Temple. Colin Dye, Senior Pastor of KT, had a vision to plant across the Capital a number of years ago and one of the many churches that emerged at that time was CCF. Roger Stedman has faithfully led this group since its inception and continues to head this witness in one of the most densely populated parts of london. There are a number of churches in the vicinity linked to Elim and it was good to be able to minister at CCF and meet the people who worship there.

London - Bethnal Green

It is always a joy to visit 'New Life Bible Church' - Elim's congregation in the heart of Bethnal Green pastored by Richard and Toyin Jama. There is a sense of infectious enthusiasm in this great church. The worship team is of the highest quality and the church, apart from being a source of blessing and encouragement to those who attend, is increasingly involved in the local community.

After the service it was a spcial pleasure to spend time with the Elders over a meal. A loyal and commited leadership is a prerequisite for a growing and expanding church. If that is the case then this fellowship in Bethnal Green has a great future.

Wirral Christian Centre

Very few ministers in our Movement have served as faithfully and as long in any one location as Paul and Evelyn Epton. It was 35 years ago that they first came to a small building in Birkenhead. They soon outgrew their first premises and moved to a former childrens hospital in 1973.

My visit on this occasion was to dedicate their new building - a former congregational church that had laid a ruin for over twenty years but now has been fully and sympathetically restored into a beautiful 500 seater sanctuary on the opposite side of the road from their curent location. The church was full to capacity for this special event at which the local MP, Frank Field, officially opened the church. Other special guests included the Regional Leader for the area, Kevin Peat and the local mayor.

Wells

The Wells church is in the process of purchasing a landmark building in the centre of the city which will be used, not just to hold services, but to serve the community on a variety levels.

Stephen Fowler, pictured here with his wife Gill, invited me to spend an evening with his core leaders in a culmination of six weeks of teaching linked to the 'Stepping Up' programme.

Wells is a church that understands what it means to be an expression of the Kingdom of God in their area and are also expressing, through their ministry, the heart and pulse of our Movement's vision and values.

Dublin

My previous two visits to the Ballyfermot church in Dublin has been during the ministry of John and Trish Waller who had had a very succesful ministry there. The church is currently led by Dave and Sylvia Galvin who are taking the church from strength to strength. They are two fabulous people and I so much enjoyed being with the church for the morning and the evening services. The night format took the form of studio-style interview ably conducted by Sylvia (pictured with her husband Dave) who later took questions from the congregation. It was a creative and innovative way to enable me to share what I had to say - and particularly to respond to the excellent and intuitive questions that were put to me.

Malvern NLT

The normal venue for our NLT meetings is Nantwich but on this occasion we spent the three days at the Abbey Hotel in Malvern so that we could visit the site of the new International offices that are under construction and, so far, right on target. For one of the NLT it was a first visit to the site and for most the first opportunity to inspect the progress of the renovation which is due to be finished in around six months time.

Loxton Retreat

My visit to speak at the retreat for the combined Regions (Wales and Southwest and Southern Region) came after one of the busiest priods in my role as GS. I had travelled around four thousand miles within the UK in the previous month and had spoken eight times in the previous nine days. However it was a joy to be there for the final two sessions and it was clear that they had had a great time of ministry prior to my arrival. The National Leadership Team request each of the Regional leaders to provide a venue (at least once every two years) when I can share the essence of my personal vision for the Movement. This was such an occasion. The venue was ideal and had been arranged and sponsored by Geoff and Carole Feasey. Geoff, apart from being a member of the NLT is the Regional leader for the area and has a very strong pastoral heart for the leaders and the churches that he covers.